1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a string-attached input device, and a portable electronic device. Specifically, the present invention relates to a string-attached input device that is used for an input operation on a touch panel and the like, and a portable electronic device provided with the touch panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Input pens are input means for portable electronic devices provided with a touch panel and the like. Generally, this input pen is structured by a pen tip portion being formed at an end of its slender main body. The user thereof holds the main body with a hand, and brings the pen tip portion into contact with the input surface (a touch panel or the like) of a portable electronic device so as to perform a required input operation. However, when carrying the portable electronic device, the user sometimes loses the input pen by mislaying it.
One of the measures for preventing the loss is to accommodate the input pen in the body of the portable electronic device. However, it is not a secure measure because the user may forget to accommodate the input pen.
As another measure, there is a method where a portable electronic device and an input pen are tied by a string, namely, a method preparing “a string-attached input pen”. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. 2000-207115 discloses a method where one end side of a string having a predetermined length is attached to a rear end portion of an input pen (hereinafter referred to as “prior art”). In this prior art, the input pen and a portable electric device are always carried as a pair by the other end side of the string being attached to the portable electronic device, whereby the loss of the input pen can be prevented unfailingly.
However, although the prior art is effective for preventing the loss of an input pen, the string sometimes gets in the way of the operation of the input pen.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the inconvenience in the prior art. In this figure, an input pen 1 has been tied to a portable electronic device 3 by a string 2. When operating an input surface 4 of the portable electronic device 3, the user holds the input pen 1 with a hand to perform a required input operation. However, the string 2 sometimes becomes entangled with the user's fingertip and gets in the way. In such a case, before performing an input operation, the user is required to disentangle the string, which affects the input operation.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a string-attached input pen and a portable electronic device by which loss of input pens are prevented and input operations are improved.